"I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests, to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children," he said, according to NBC News.

That forgiveness must come from victims like San Diegan Jim Dunlap. He said he was preyed upon by Father Ted Llanos in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Dunlap said he would have liked to hear the pope’s speech 20 years ago.

“Forgiveness has to be given, and considering all that’s been taken from me, I’m not at a point where I’m willing to do that or ready to do that,” he said.

Dunlap said he was abused from 1972 to 1975 by a man everyone thought was “the greatest guy in the world.”

For years, Dunlap said Llanos threatened that if he told anything about the abuse, no one would believe him.

Twenty years later, Dunlap became one of six altar boys to sue the archdiocese for sexual abuse by Llanos.

After 12 years in court, his case was settled in 2007 for $1.2 million.

But for the now 54-year-old Dunlap, who has no wife or kids, neither the money nor the apology will make up for his ordeal.

“Considering all that’s been taken from me, I’m not at a point where I’m willing to [forgive],” Dunlap said.

Pope Francis has created a commission to help the Catholic Church tackle the problem of pedophilia. Last month, he appointed a former child victim to serve in the group.

Dunlap hopes the church goes a step beyond that to offer lifetime therapy to all victims.